Download or read book Physicalism in Mathematics written by A.D. Irvine and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of papers has its origin in a conference held at the Uni versity of Toronto in June of 1988. The theme of the conference was Physicalism in Mathematics: Recent Work in the Philosophy of Math ematics. At the conference, papers were read by Geoffrey Hellman (Minnesota), Yvon Gauthier (Montreal), Michael Hallett (McGill), Hartry Field (USC), Bob Hale (Lancaster & St Andrew's), Alasdair Urquhart (Toronto) and Penelope Maddy (Irvine). This volume supplements updated versions of six of those papers with contributions by Jim Brown (Toronto), John Bigelow (La Trobe), John Burgess (Princeton), Chandler Davis (Toronto), David Papineau (Cambridge), Michael Resnik (North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Peter Simons (Salzburg) and Crispin Wright (St Andrews & Michigan). Together they provide a vivid, expansive snapshot of the exciting work which is currently being carried out in philosophy of mathematics. Generous financial support for the original conference was provided by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada, the British Council, and the Department of Philosophy together with the Office of Internal Relations at the University of Toronto. Additional support for the production of this volume was gratefully received from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Download or read book The Reality of Numbers written by John Bigelow and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 1988 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book casts new light on mathematics through its consideration of metaphysical materialism. The author identifies natural, real and imaginary numbers and sets with specified physical properties and relations. However sets are construed numbers are not sets. Sets are important simply because they instantiate all the numbers and all the other properties and relations studied in mathematics. Set theory tempts us into misunderstanding the nature of mathematics; Bigelow challenges the myth that mathematicalobjects can be defined into existence. By reconstruing numbers as real, non-linguistic, physical properties or relations, mathematics can be drawn back from its sterile, abstract exile into the midst of the physical world to which we belong.
Download or read book Consciousness and the Limits of Objectivity written by Robert J. Howell and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-06-14 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Consciousness and the Limits of Objectivity Robert J. Howell argues that the options in the debates about consciousness and the mind-body problem are more limited than many philosophers have appreciated. Unless one takes a hard-line stance, which either denies the data provided by consciousness or makes a leap of faith about future discoveries, one must admit that no objective picture of our world can be complete. Howell argues, however, that this is consistent with physicalism, contrary to received wisdom. After developing a novel, neo-Cartesian notion of the physical, followed by a careful consideration of the three major anti-materialist arguments—Black's 'Presentation Problem', Jackson's Knowledge Argument, and Chalmers' Conceivability Argument—Howell proposes a 'subjective physicalism' which gives the data of consciousness their due, while retaining the advantages of a monistic, physical ontology.
Download or read book Studies in No Self Physicalism written by Feng Ye and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-12-12 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book demonstrates how a radical version of physicalism (‘No-Self Physicalism’) can offer an internally coherent and comprehensive philosophical worldview. It first argues that a coherent physicalist should explicitly treat a cognitive subject merely as a physical thing and should not vaguely assume an amorphous or even soul-like subject or self. This approach forces the physicalist to re-examine traditional core philosophical notions such as truth, analyticity, modality, apriority because our traditional understandings of them appear to be predicated on a cognitive subject that is not literally just a physical thing. In turn, working on the assumption that a cognitive subject is itself completely physical, namely a neural network-based robot programmed by evolution (hence the term ‘No-Self’), the book proposes physicalistic theories on conceptual representation, truth, analyticity, modality, the nature of mathematics, epistemic justification, knowledge, apriority and intuition, as well as a physicalistic ontology. These are meant to show that this No-Self Physicalism, perhaps the most minimalistic and radical version of physicalism proposed to date, can accommodate many aspects that have traditionally interested philosophers. Given its refreshingly radical approach and painstakingly developed content, the book is of interest to anyone who is seeking a coherent philosophical worldview in this age of science.
Download or read book Physicalism written by Daniel Stoljar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-04-05 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Physicalism, the thesis that everything is physical, is one of the most important yet divisive problems in philosophy. In this superb introduction to the problem Daniel Stoljar focuses on three fundamental questions: the interpretation, truth and philosophical significance of physicalism.
Download or read book Understanding Physicalism written by Gregor M. Hörzer and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-08-10 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Physicalism is a metaphysical thesis easily presented in slogan form – there is nothing over and above the physical – but notoriously difficult to formulate precisely. Understanding physicalism combines insights from contemporary philosophy of mind and metaphysics to present a new account of physical properties and metaphysical dependence and, on this foundation, develop a more rigorous and illuminating formulation of the thesis of physicalism
Download or read book Husserl Or Frege written by Claire Ortiz Hill and published by Open Court Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most areas of philosopher Edmund Husserl’s thought have been explored, but his views on logic, mathematics, and semantics have been largely ignored. These essays offer an alternative to discussions of the philosophy of contemporary mathematics. The book covers areas of disagreement between Husserl and Gottlob Frege, the father of analytical philosophy, and explores new perspectives seen in their work.
Download or read book Physicalism or Something Near Enough written by Jaegwon Kim and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2007-12-03 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary discussions in philosophy of mind have largely been shaped by physicalism, the doctrine that all phenomena are ultimately physical. Here, Jaegwon Kim presents the most comprehensive and systematic presentation yet of his influential ideas on the mind-body problem. He seeks to determine, after half a century of debate: What kind of (or "how much") physicalism can we lay claim to? He begins by laying out mental causation and consciousness as the two principal challenges to contemporary physicalism. How can minds exercise their causal powers in a physical world? Is a physicalist account of consciousness possible? The book's starting point is the "supervenience" argument (sometimes called the "exclusion" argument), which Kim reformulates in an extended defense. This argument shows that the contemporary physicalist faces a stark choice between reductionism (the idea that mental phenomena are physically reducible) and epiphenomenalism (the view that mental phenomena are causally impotent). Along the way, Kim presents a novel argument showing that Cartesian substance dualism offers no help with mental causation. Mind-body reduction, therefore, is required to save mental causation. But are minds physically reducible? Kim argues that all but one type of mental phenomena are reducible, including intentional mental phenomena, such as beliefs and desires. The apparent exceptions are the intrinsic, felt qualities of conscious experiences ("qualia"). Kim argues, however, that certain relational properties of qualia, in particular their similarities and differences, are behaviorally manifest and hence in principle reducible, and that it is these relational properties of qualia that are central to their cognitive roles. The causal efficacy of qualia, therefore, is not entirely lost. According to Kim, then, while physicalism is not the whole truth, it is the truth near enough.
Download or read book Physicalism Deconstructed written by Kevin Morris and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a philosophical and historical critique of contemporary conceptions of physicalism, especially non-reductive, levels-based approaches to physicalist metaphysics. Challenging assumptions about the mind-body problem, this accessible book will interest scholars working in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.
Download or read book Philosophy of Chemistry written by Andrea Woody and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2012 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosophy of Chemistry investigates the foundational concepts and methods of chemistry, the science of the nature of substances and their transformations. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of chemistry ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out the central topics in the field. The 33 articles address the history of the philosophy of chemistry and the philosophical importance of some central figures in the history of chemistry; the nature of chemical substances; central chemical concepts and methods, including the chemical bond, the periodic table and reaction mechanisms; and chemistry's relationship to other disciplines such as physics, molecular biology, pharmacy and chemical engineering. This volume serves as a detailed introduction for those new to the field as well as a rich source of new insights and potential research agendas for those already engaged with the philosophy of chemistry. Provides a bridge between philosophy and current scientific findings Encourages multi-disciplinary dialogue Covers theory and applications
Download or read book Philosophical Dimensions in Mathematics Education written by Karen Francois and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-11-15 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together diverse recent developments exploring the philosophy of mathematics in education. The unique combination of ethnomathematics, philosophy, history, education, statistics and mathematics offers a variety of different perspectives from which existing boundaries in mathematics education can be extended. The ten chapters in this book offer a balance between philosophy of and philosophy in mathematics education. Attention is paid to the implementation of a philosophy of mathematics within the mathematics curriculum.
Download or read book The Role of Mathematics in Physical Sciences written by Giovanni Boniolo and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-03-10 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Even though mathematics and physics have been related for centuries and this relation appears to be unproblematic, there are many questions still open: Is mathematics really necessary for physics, or could physics exist without mathematics? Should we think physically and then add the mathematics apt to formalise our physical intuition, or should we think mathematically and then interpret physically the obtained results? Do we get mathematical objects by abstraction from real objects, or vice versa? Why is mathematics effective into physics? These are all relevant questions, whose answers are necessary to fully understand the status of physics, particularly of contemporary physics. The aim of this book is to offer plausible answers to such questions through both historical analyses of relevant cases, and philosophical analyses of the relations between mathematics and physics.
Download or read book Thinking about Mathematics written by Stewart Shapiro and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2000-07-13 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thinking about Mathematics covers the range of philosophical issues and positions concerning mathematics. The text describes the questions about mathematics that motivated philosophers throughout history and covers historical figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Mill. It also presents the major positions and arguments concerning mathematics throughout the twentieth century, bringing the reader up to the present positions and battle lines.
Download or read book Numerical Cognition and the Epistemology of Arithmetic written by Markus Pantsar and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-03-28 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arithmetic is one of the foundations of our educational systems, but what exactly is it? Numbers are everywhere in our modern societies, but what is our knowledge of numbers really about? This book provides a philosophical account of arithmetical knowledge that is based on the state-of-the-art empirical studies of numerical cognition. It explains how humans have developed arithmetic from humble origins to its modern status as an almost universally possessed knowledge and skill. Central to the account is the realisation that, while arithmetic is a human creation, the development of arithmetic is constrained by our evolutionarily developed cognitive architecture. Arithmetic is a sophisticated cultural development, but it is ultimately based on abilities with numerosities that we already possess as infants and share with many non-human animals. Therefore, arithmetic is not purely conventional, an arbitrary game akin to chess. Instead, arithmetic is deeply connected to our basic cognitive capacities.
Download or read book Advanced Concepts in Particle and Field Theory written by Tristan Hübsch and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-11 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An expansive and conceptually unifying textbook of fundamental and theoretical physics, describing elementary particles and their interactions.
Download or read book Philosophy of Mathematics written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2009-07-08 with total page 735 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most striking features of mathematics is the fact that we are much more certain about the mathematical knowledge we have than about what mathematical knowledge is knowledge of. Are numbers, sets, functions and groups physical entities of some kind? Are they objectively existing objects in some non-physical, mathematical realm? Are they ideas that are present only in the mind? Or do mathematical truths not involve referents of any kind? It is these kinds of questions that have encouraged philosophers and mathematicians alike to focus their attention on issues in the philosophy of mathematics. Over the centuries a number of reasonably well-defined positions about the nature of mathematics have been developed and it is these positions (both historical and current) that are surveyed in the current volume. Traditional theories (Platonism, Aristotelianism, Kantianism), as well as dominant modern theories (logicism, formalism, constructivism, fictionalism, etc.), are all analyzed and evaluated. Leading-edge research in related fields (set theory, computability theory, probability theory, paraconsistency) is also discussed. The result is a handbook that not only provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments but that also serves as an indispensable resource for anyone wanting to learn about current developments in the philosophy of mathematics. -Comprehensive coverage of all main theories in the philosophy of mathematics-Clearly written expositions of fundamental ideas and concepts-Definitive discussions by leading researchers in the field-Summaries of leading-edge research in related fields (set theory, computability theory, probability theory, paraconsistency) are also included
Download or read book Visual Thinking in Mathematics written by Marcus Giaquinto and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-07-05 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing from philosophical work on the nature of concepts and from empirical studies of visual perception, mental imagery, and numerical cognition, Giaquinto explores a major source of our grasp of mathematics, using examples from basic geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and real analysis.
